1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a mop head comprising a plurality of web elements, and to a method of making same.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a mop head comprising fibrous web elements for the retention of solids and/or fluids, for dry-mopping and/or wet-mopping applications. The web elements of the mop head are structured to provide three-dimensional configurations including involutions providing enhanced holding ability (capacitance) for the retention and subsequent release of particulates and/or fluids.
2. Description of the Related Art
The raw materials employed in mop head yarn elements can be of many different types. There are primarily two different types of fibers in common use in such yarn elements, cellulose-based fibers and petroleum-based fibers. Cellulose-based fibers used in this industry are typically cotton or rayon fibers. The most common petroleum-based fibers employed in mop applications are polypropylene, polyester, and nylon fibers. Cellulose fibers are generally derived from natural resources without chemical restructuring of their properties, as is typical of most synthetics.
Mop yarns may also comprise miscellaneous fibers of undetermined origin, in addition to cotton or rayon. These miscellaneous fibers may be a blend of fibers which are produced as a by-product of manufacturing processes in textile mills running virgin raw materials. As these mills produce end products such as denim, sheeting, towels, etc., the process machinery throw off fibers and trimmings waste which are assimilated through various collection devices to be baled and reused or sold. This waste fiber by-product has approximately the same fiber composition as the end product being manufactured.
A prevalent raw material used for the manufacture of mop yarn is 100% cotton fiber. This fiber is generally used in three different types: (1) virgin cotton; (2) gin motes or gin mote blends; and (3) waste of 100 % cotton.
Virgin cotton is cotton produced by the ginning process, with no reprocessing being involved. For mop yarn this virgin cotton generally is lower grade cotton such as good ordinary or below grade class, and may contain shorter, less mature fibers, or naturally stained fibers which may contain a greater amount of leaf, stick or stem than higher grades of cotton.
Gin motes are one of the by-products generated by the cotton ginning process. These by-products comprise the fibers separated from the virgin cotton when it is cleaned in the cotton gin. The quality of the gin mote fibers is directly related to the quality of the virgin cotton being ginned. If the cotton being ginned is of higher classes of quality, then the gin motes will consist of better quality fibers. However, if the gin motes are not reprocessed prior to the manufacture of yarn therefrom, a yarn will be processed which has an extremely high trash content, e.g., leaf, stick and stem particles included in the fibers. As a result, most mop yarn manufacturers reprocess the raw gin motes into cleaned-up gin mote blends.
Waste of 100% cotton is used very little in the manufacture of mop yarn because of its limited supply.
Another cellulose-based raw fiber material which is widely employed in the manufacture of mop yarn is rayon. Rayon is a viscose fiber produced primarily from wood pulp or other sources of regenerated cellulose. This fiber is produced by dissolving purified cellulose using certain solvents and chemical baths for hardening. After hardening, it is cut to staple lengths. The diameter of the fiber can vary and it is denoted by its direct relation to weight.
Most mop yarns are formed of cellulosic or other natural materials, or else of natural/synthetic blends. Synthetic (e.g., petroleum-based) fibers are not generally used alone in mop head applications for wet-mopping usage, for the reason that many synthetic fibers cannot absorb water, but rather must rely on their capillary reaction to liquids. This means that the yarn must be sufficiently porous to permit the moisture to diffuse between the fibers and be held between the fibers in a clinging manner. The positive aspects of synthetic fibers for mop head application include their strength, high wearability, and limited shrinkage characteristics. In many mopping applications, the mop head may suitably employ mop yarn of only synthetic fibers. An oil mop of such type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,748,682.
The general characteristics desirable for mop yarns and fiber structures in mopping applications include:
(1) high durability and abrasion resistance;
(2) high absorption characteristics as demonstrated by soft, e.g., loosely twisted yarns;
(3) ready driability;
(4) high wet tensile strength; and
(5) the ability to withstand repeated launderings and not shrink significantly,
with characteristics (1) and (5) being important in both wet mopping as well as dry mopping applications, while characteristics (2), (3), and (4) are desirable for wet-mopping applications.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,616 issued Jan. 5, 1988 to A. D. Harmon, et al discloses a mop head construction comprising a plurality of substantially parallel, abutting strands of textile material, such as roving, or cords of twisted strands and yarns. The main deficiency of this product lies in the fact that absorption is being accomplished through the use of capillary action exhibited by very finely divided fibrous structures possessing a low fluid pick-up and retention capacity on a unit volume basis, thereby physically limiting the amount of fluids, e.g., liquids, or mixtures of liquids and particulates, that can be absorbed per unit volume. Further, due to its large surface area per unit volume, the renewability and driability of this type of fabric is poor. The fluid that is taken up by such mop head is not readily released, so that the sorptive capacity which initially is present is not efficiently used after liquid is taken up, until the fibrous structure dries by evaporation of the retained fluid.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,774 issued Feb. 2, 1982 to J. P. Arthur describes a mop head made of a non-woven fabric of a cellulose and synthetic fiber blend which is made by combining plural non-woven continuous fabric sheets in a composite superimposed stack, ultrasonically sealing the stack in a continuous transverse direction of the sheet in the center portion thereof, and then cutting the stack between the ends of the sheets and the central portion to form a plurality of strips.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,224 issued Feb. 2, 1988 to E. Disko discloses a mop comprising plural absorptive elements comprising superposed flat layers of bonded non-woven fabric comprising a fibrous web and a binder. The fibrous web comprises at least about 50% by weight of hydrophilic fibers and the binder is present in about 25% to 100 % of the fibers, at about 50-400 grams per square meter. The binder is printed onto the fabric in the pattern. The non-woven fabric layers are joined along a medial spine, from which the layers are slit to the extremities thereof to form parallel flat strips ranging in width from about 15-40 millimeters and in length from about 20-60 centimeters.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,520,017 issued July 17, 1970 to T. V. Moss describes a mop swab including a multiplicity of absorbent mop cords which are secured together adjacent the ends of the swap by strands of thread or yarn which extend transversely to the swab in and among the mop cords. The mop cords may also be secured substantially centrally of the swab in a bunched-together relationship, by a canvass or fabric band.
It would be a significant advance in the art of mop head structures to provide a mop head having a significantly enhanced capacity for particulates and/or liquids, encompassing both dry mopping and wet mopping utility, relative to mop head structures of the prior art.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide such an improved mop head structure having utility for diverse dry mopping and/or wet mopping applications.